New Allies, Old Enemies
by animaniac345
Summary: Sequel to A New Love After getting married to Neil, Melfina gets plagued by frightening dreams.
1. Chapter 1

"IIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" I heard Melfina scream.

It was four o'clock in the morning Sentinel standard time. We were married for nearly two months. For the last few weeks or so, Melfina has been having nightmares. When I ask her about them, she refuses to tell me.

"Iie! Leave me alone! Go away!" she screamed in her sleep.

I then shook her awake.

"Hey Mel! Snap out of it, will you? There's no one hurting you."

"Neil…" she said softly.

"I'm here," I said as a kissed her softly on her lips. Then I held her in my arms. Melfina quietly sobbed, drenching my shirt.

"Mel, if you don't tell me what's the matter, I can't help you. I really want to help you. Now just calm down while I just get you a tissue to wipe yourself off with. Would you like some tea?"

"Thanks." She whispered.

Lately, I've noticed that Melfina has gotten a lot closer to me. In fact, she refuses to go anywhere without me. Before, she could easily walk to the grocer's by herself. Something has to be scaring her.

I came back up to our room with a tray. On the tray was a tissue and two cups of tea. I wiped her tears off before I gave her the tea.

"Now, what's wrong?" I asked calmly.

"Lately, I was dreaming of Lord Hazanko," she said. "He was very…angry."

"Oh, him. I was on his trail for months. It didn't help that a large portion of my Space Force precinct has either been bribed or threatened not to go after him."

"He said that I haven't served my 'purpose'. With that, he tried to use the same spell that killed Harry MacDougall."

"You may relax now. Hazanko's dead, and there's no need to worry about him. Even if he isn't, I'll protect you," with that, I kissed her.

"Go back to sleep. Remember that I love you," I said.

As she lay back down, I caressed her cheek. Something must've triggered this wave of nightmares. I've got to look into it. I will not allow anyone to hurt my treasure.


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up that day, I heard on the radio news of some ship landing onto Sentinel III. Ever since the debacle at the Leyline, pirates have been swarming all over the galaxy in order to compensate for Hazanko's mistakes and the money spent on the project.

The presence of the Space Forces is light on the frontier, so I'm going to have to protect my home myself. With the many encounters I had with Tao mages, I had to use a caster as my primary weapon against them. This is no ordinary caster though. I have a large stock of number fours, nines, and thirteens. Since these shells need a life force for a catalyst, I built a generator on the butt of my gun so the shell will draw energy from that instead of me.

After breakfast, I went out to run the routine maintenance on the Outlaw Star. Now I see why the computer, Gilliam II, brags about it being the most advanced ship in the galaxy. The ship was built using Pirates' designs and Space Force technology. Ever since it went "missing", the Space Forces were frantically doing all they can to disavow any knowledge of the ship.

As I operated on the ships main Newton reactors, my portable phone rang in my back pocket.

"Talk to me," I said casually.

"Neil! I-I-It's Hazanko! AAAAAHH" I heard Melfina scream.

I guess that explains the ship the landed here. I raced to my sports car and raced back home. I fumbled the keys trying to get back into my house.

"Come on! Come on, dammit!" I yelled. I finally got the door open.

As I walked in, I saw a struggle between Melfina and Hazanko. I didn't think he'd be back from the dead.

Hazanko had Melfina pinned against the wall. Her blouse was opened near the top, revealing her breasts, and Hazanko had his hand up her skirt while he sloppily kissed her.

"Get off her you sick bastard!" I roared as I fired a number four at him. It hurt him, but didn't seem enough to kill him. Hazanko reared his ugly head at me.

"I came for my puppet! It was all because of her I couldn't surpass the Tendo King! It was all because of her my lifelong ambition was thrown away! Now I want payback."

Melfina was crying, "Please! Get him away from me!"

I loaded another shell up.

"Pagua sunfa! Pagua sunfa! Pagua sunfa! Pagua sunfa!"

With that, Hazanko disappeared. I ran immediately to comfort Melfina. What has that monster done to her? I held her in my arms. Luckily, Hazanko couldn't fully carry out his intention of raping her. That was it. I'm going to kill Hazanko.


	3. Chapter 3

Thinking about the day's events made my blood boil and my mind boggle. First, a pirate rose from the dead. Then, he came to Sentinel and attempted to rape my wife. This does not normally happen to the average guy. Then again, Gene Starwind and Jim Hawking were two relatively average guys, and look what they have to show for their adventures.

I thought about this as I made dinner. Normally, Melfina made dinner, but because of what happened earlier, I let her relax. Actually, it was more like me locking her up in our room because she insisted upon getting the chores done.

I then loaded up two plates of spaghetti on a tray and brought the tray upstairs. When I opened the door, I found Melfina reading a romance novel. I placed the tray on the bed.

"Here," I said.

"Thank you."

Then we ate and for the remainder of the meal, not another word was exchanged. Then, I put took the dishes back down and washed them.

After that I brushed my teeth and was on my way to the bedroom with a book. When I stepped in, I found Mel standing in front of me. I had no idea as to what came over her.

Then, she hugged me.

"Neil?"

"Yes?"

"Let's make love."

Now that I thought about it, during the entire time we were married we never made love. I never even saw her naked.

"Um, is this really the right time, especially after what happened today?" I queried.

"I want to know if it's possible with a bio-android such as myself."

"Why?"

At that, Melfina burst into tears.

"Hazanko said that you would never love me. He said humans could never love robots."

"All right. First of all, love doesn't always mean sex! Second, I very much do love you!" I said. Then I kissed her passionately. I felt my hand go up Mel's nightdress.

That night, we made love. It was possible.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, I visited the old Starwind and Hawking repair shop. Even though now just Hawking would be appropriate, James kept it up in Gene's memory. I walked into the garage to find James working on his car, the Ehefrau.

"Hey Jim!" I said.

Jim looked up wearing protective goggles.

"Oh, hey Neil. Could you pass me that fusion cutter there?"

I gave it to him. As he started to cut some wires, I told him about what happened over the last two days.

"Whoa! How the hell did Hazanko come back? Why the hell did he do that to Mel?"

"If I knew Jim, I'd be sure to tell you. Anyway, I'm going to need your help piloting the Outlaw Star. And in the mean time, we need to locate the Ctarl-Ctarl and that assassin woman. You with me?"

"Yes sir!"

"Alrighty! Let's get back to my home."

When I opened the door, I found Melfina peeling potatoes.

"Hey Mel!"

"Jim!" cried Mel as she ran to embrace Jim. She kissed him on the forehead.

"So Mel, how've you and Neil been getting along?"

"Oh, just fine."

"You know Neil, there were only two people who could make Mel recover from a tragedy that quickly. You and Aniki."

"Gee, thanks!"

"You're one lucky guy. Anyway Mel, we're going to re-unite the Outlaw Star crew. You care to come."

"I…I don't know."

I interrupted, "Come on! I'm sure that's what Gene would've wanted."

At that, Mel's countenance beamed.

"You're right!"

"Great," I said. "Let's go!"


	5. Chapter 5

It was quiet. Too quiet. Too quiet for me to even think straight. Normally, quiet is when I think best.

I hopped out of bed and took a look out of the window. The Outlaw Star had left Sentinel four galactic standard days ago. All I saw was an immense ocean of stars.

I went to the tech hall to find a portable computer sitting lifeless on the table. When I opened a drawer, I found a mess of data discs. One of them in particular caught my eye. It was labeled "The Creation of the Leyline Project."

I slid it into the appropriate disc drive and waited for it to load.

Then, I found I wasn't in the tech hall anymore. I wasn't even on the Outlaw Star for that matter. I was in an immense, empty hallway.

Just then, a door opened on the end of the hall closer to me. A woman came. The woman had an uncanny resemblance to Melfina, although not quite as beautiful. This woman was quite a bit taller and had a slightly tanner complexion. What shocked me was what it said on her ID tag. Dr. Jane Hawking.

Another person came from the other end of the hall. This person was Gwen Khan.

"Dr. Hawking, the egg cell you provided was most helpful. Yes. Helpful. Yes. Yes."

"Thanks," Her voice was louder and stronger than Melfina's gentle one. "I see that you are utilizing Dr. MacDougall's research on constructs."

"Why, yes. The major difference is that I was using sperm derived from DNA samples at the Grave of the Dragon."

"Oh. The black box."

"Yes. Yes. I still can't decipher that one fragment of code left behind that race. What a bother. What a bother," He said as he shook his head.

So Melfina was made using Dr. Hawking's DNA. That inevitably meant that Melfina is Jim's sister.

"So how's the XGP coming along?" asked Dr. Hawking.

"Oh, delays, delays. What can you do? The project has been backed up for another fifteen years."

Then, I found myself back in the tech room. Just as always, there are questions that remain unanswered. What was this purpose Melfina hasn't fulfilled? She gave Hazanko his wish at the Leyline. I guess I'll have to find out the hard way.


	6. Chapter 6

According to Jim, the Ctarl-Ctarl, Aisha, is being incarcerated at Gahena prison at Hecatoncheir. I attempted to contact the warden and give him orders to release her, but this effort was to no avail. My only option left was to break her out using my new grappler ship.

As the Outlaw Star orbited Hecatoncheir, I ordered Gilliam to scan for Aisha.

"One moment sir," replied Gilliam. "Miss Clan-Clan is being transported by train from the main prison to solitary confinement."

"OK. Can you keep us flying with this gravity?"

"Of course, after all, I am the fastest, most advanced ship in the galaxy. However, the ten-g area may be a little problematic."

"All right then, Melfina, get us to that train as soon as you can."

"Copy that," Mel responded from her navigation tube.

"Jim, ready the torch cutter."

"Yes sir," said Jim from the seat in front of me.

As we neared the surface, we began to feel a slight crushing sensation. Gilliam then lowered the artificial gravity to compensate. The transport train was in sight. It was moving at a very sluggish rate through the snow.

I then armed the grappler arms. I grasped the train using one and cut the train open with the cutter. Then, I lowered the entry pod.

Ctarl-Ctarl are notoriously tough, so Aisha had no trouble getting into the pod with this gravity.

The white-haired Ctarl-Ctarl then entered the bridge.

"Hey! Thanks for breaking me – out?" she stopped abruptly as soon as she saw me. "Wait a second. You're not Gene. But this is his ship and his crew. What happened?"

"No time to explain," was my only reply.

"A transmission from the prison is coming in," said Gilliam.

"Put him through," ordered Jim.

The warden's fat face came on screen.

"I have you now! You're that damned ship that broke Curse Hawkwind and Saiyo Wong out! I'm sending fighters to capture your ship. There's no way another escape will occur!"

Then he looked back at Melfina. A sly grin came on his face. Melfina began to look very uncomfortable.

"Maybe if you let me have _her_ for the night, I might just let you off with a five year sentence! However—"

"Enough! Leave my wife outta this you sick bastard! Gilliam, end transmission!" I roared.

"Your wife?" Aisha queried.

"It's a long story."

Cub grapplers swarmed all over us as soon as we left orbit. There were only five, so it was no problem at all.

I just took one in each hand, and flung them at two of their friends. I shot the remaining ship with missiles.

I looked back at Melfina. She still seemed in pain after what the warden had said.

_Why the hell does everyone want to screw her?_

After what Hazanko did to her, I wasn't going to even hear a negotiation like that, let alone make one.


	7. Chapter 7

I slept in the next day. By the time I got to the dining hall, everyone had finished breakfast. It was 9:00 a.m. Sentinel standard time.

I let out a loud yawn.

"Hey Neil!" Aisha called from her spot at the table. "Since you were asleep, no one wanted to bother you, so I ate your breakfast for you!"

"Gee thanks," I grunted. I yawned again. Then, I noticed that Melfina wasn't around here. The dishes were already neatly piled up in a cabinet.

"Thank you too, warden," I muttered to myself. I was sure what the warden said was still fresh in Mel's mind.

I made my way up to her quarters. Then, I knocked.

"Come in."

I walked in to see Mel sitting on her bed with her face resting in her hands, and her elbows resting on her legs. I sat next to her.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked.

Melfina then buried her face in my arm and began to cry softly. I gently pried her off.

"Come on, tell me what's wrong?" I said a touch bit impatient.

"Neil. Please tell me, what am I? Everyone treats me like some cyber-whore or something. The warden, Hazanko, Gene…"

"Gene?"

"Well, one night, I met him while he was in bed, and he wanted to have sex with me, but I refused, and…and…"

A new burst of tears came out.

"And?"

"He..he..yelled at me!"

"Ok. Well, Gene was like that, but Jim told me that you changed him, for the better of course. And the other two are a pair of assholes, so pay no attention to them."

I hugged her lovingly.

"Besides Melfina, I think you are not only very beautiful, but a good friend also." With that, she hugged me right back.

"I love you, Neil. I love Gene too." The sobs have lessened.

As I held her, I wanted to kiss her very much. I had to resist, otherwise that would negate what I said a second ago.

Then, I felt Mel's hand come up to my cheek. It made me jump as if I experienced an electric shock. Then, she kissed me on my mouth. She then held me like that. This was one of those times when I know how much I really love her. I then started stroking her hair. It felt like silk in my hands. She then released and rested her head on my arm.

"Please Neil, stay here. When you're around, I feel like protected."

I then kissed her gently on her forehead.

"Remember Melfina, I love you, Jim loves you, and so did Gene."

"And Harry MacDougall."

"Who's he?"

Melfina then explained that he was another construct. At first, it was just a selfish crush he had, but it turned to bona fide love when he died heroically to stop Hazanko from using her at the Galactic Leyline. Then while he was in a death state, he hacked the Leyline in order to delete the protection program and open the door for Gene to pass through.

"By the way, it appears so that Aisha really liked your eggs and potatoes."

"Oh! Your breakfast!"

"Never mind that. I'm not hungry. Just stay here and relax."

I just hugged her then. No matter what, nothing's harming my Melfina.


	8. Chapter 8

Heiphong was a very crowded planet. The urban sprawl encompassed the entire world.

From what I've heard, the assassin woman was somewhere here. An assassination has occurred recently.

I left the rest of the crew at the hotel while I went to a bar. That is a good place to check out the latest relevant gossip.

"What'll it be sir?" the attractive bartender asked.

"Ummmm. I'll have a scotch on the rocks." I answered.

I then sipped casually. I listened, but there was nothing new about assassinations. Finally, after brushing off a hooker, I was on my way to the hotel.

Back in the room, I found a Japanese woman sitting on a couch casually sipping tea opposite the coffee table from Mel, Aisha, and Jim. Suzuka. There she was after I went through all the effort of going to that smoke-filled bar.

"Lovely," I muttered under my breath.

Then, someone knocked the door.

"Oh. Room service!" Aisha exclaimed.

"Um..No one ordered room service." Mel said quietly.

"Oh great!" I said.

To be continued.


	9. Chapter 9

I loaded a shell into my caster. After the experience at the bar, I was not in the mood for a pirate attack.

I opened the door to see a man wearing an Antonio's Pizza uniform. As soon as he saw that he was looking down the barrel of my caster, he dropped the pizza and put his hands in the air.

"Please, sir! Whatever it is, I didn't do it! I'm sorry your pizza is late! Please just don't kill me!" the pizza delivery guy screamed in panic.

"Um, sorry," was the best I could come up with.

I could barely hold him long enough to give him 50 wong to cover the pizza plus tip.

"Finally! The pizza is here!" called Jim from the bathroom.

"You ordered pizza?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jim responded.

I just gave a soft grunt.

"Neil? What's the matter?" Melfina asked.

"Can someone please tell me why am I always the last one to know things like this?" I roared.

Everyone then just looked at me.

"Why didn't anyone tell me we were eating pizza for dinner tonight? Can't you see I nearly blew away an innocent pizza delivery guy?"

"Neil! Just calm down!" Melfina said frantically. Then she calmly hugged me.

It was then when I realized that all this pressure had a negative effect on me. My lashing out on the rest of the crew really was pointless.

"I'm sorry, Mel," I said as I hugged her back.

"Nice to now we have someone just like Gene in the crew," Suzuka stated.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It means that you tend to have emotional outbursts and only Melfina can calm you down. You're just like Gene. Just when I was sure he was gone too," she said as she started on her slice of pizza.

After dinner was done, everyone went to bed. Aisha's, Suzuka's, and Jim's rooms were all next to ours.

I sat up in bed just pondering what our next move was to be. Our first objective, which was to reunite the Outlaw Star crew, has been accomplished. I guess I should show Mel and Jim that weird video I saw the other night.


End file.
